To fund its plans to expand solar module manufacturing from 450 MW to 1.2 GW, Greater Noida-based Indian solar PV manufacturer Alpex Solar Limited has filed for its initial public offering (IPO). A new aluminum frame manufacturing factory is also on the cards.
Alpex plans to use INR 195.5 million ($2.34 million) to upgrade and expand its existing module fab by 750 MW. Another INR 129.4 million ($1.55 million) will be deployed to build a new aluminum frame manufacturing unit for its solar modules.
It also plans to use INR 204.9 million ($2.46 million) for working capital requirements. Remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate expenses. Most of the suppliers of its equipment are Chinese, as per the company's Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) it filed with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Emerge to offer 64,80,000 equity shares for a face value of INR 10.0 ($0.12)/share.
As the name suggests, this NSE platform is for emerging corporates to raise capital from institutional investors and high net worth individuals (HNI).
"To meet market demand for large-sized cells with multi-bus bars (MBB) and the latest types of Mono Perc, Topcon, and Bifacial cells, we are planning to raise funds to expand our business operations by increasing our capacity from 450 MW to 1.2 GW in the existing manufacturing unit," said Chairman and Managing Director of Alpex Solar, Ashwani Sehgal who is also the president of the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA).
The Greater Noida plant can be expanded to 2 GW within the same infrastructure, it added. In November 2023, the company announced plans to expand its annual production capacity to 2 GW by 2026 (see India Solar PV News Snippets).
Alpex has been in the business of supplying solar modules to the B2B segment since 2007, and is also a contract manufacturer for companies like Tata Power, Jakson and Luminous.
In H1/FY 2024 (period ending September 30, 2023), Alpex reported INR 2.07 billion ($25 million) revenues, increasing from INR 1.84 billion ($22 million) in FY 2022-23.
In related news, at the end of November 2023, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) made its market debut with an oversubscribed IPO. According to local media reports, the public sector undertaking (PSU) was listed at INR 50.0 ($0.60)/share, a 56% premium to its IPO price of INR 32.0 ($0.38)/share. It raised around INR 21.5 billion ($258 million).